THE DECEIVER AND BEING DECEIVED
Greetings! How are your Battles going? When we aren’t aware we are under attack, it’s impossible to win the Battle we’re engaged in. Today the Holy Spirit led me to share some Scripture about “The Deceiver” (a/k/a the Enemy) and then Scriptures from Our Captain giving us instruction about being deceived. Pay special attention to how many of the instruction scripture is calling US TO ACTION.
Father, I rebuke the Enemy now, in Jesus’ Name, from stealing the Word from all reading this article, that it is well received, and that the Holy Spirit waters the seed until it flourishes abundantly in each one of us! Warriors arise!!! (FYI: When I capitalize it is for emphasis, not for yelling.). Read on . . .
*************************************
THE DECEIVER (SATAN, THE ENEMY)
Genesis 3:1 (KJV) “Now the serpent [Satan] was MORE subtle [sly, artful, cunning, crafty, deceitful] than ANY beast of the field which the Lord God had made.”
2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV) “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty [DECEIT], so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity (devotion) that is in Christ.”
Revelation 12:9 (KJV) “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which DECEIVETH the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Revelation 20:3 (KJV) “And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should DECEIVE the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
************************************
INSTRUCTION RE: DECEPTION
Scripture: Matthew 24:4; Luke 21:8; 1 Corinthians 3:18, 6:9, 10:12, 15:33; Galatians 6:7; Ephesians 5:6; Philippians 3:2; Colossians 2:8, 18; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3; Hebrews 3:12; James 1:22; 2 Peter 3:17-18; 1 John 3:7; 2 John 1:8
DON’T BE DECEIVED:
1) by those who falsely claim to be Christ
2) yourself by thinking you are wise
3) to believe that you can “practice” sin and inherit the kingdom of God
4) by thinking you are immune to temptation; instead be alert not to fall into
sin and condemnation
5) by thinking you can speak evil and maintain good character
6) by thinking God can be mocked
7) by anyone who through empty arguments tries to entice you to sin
8) by false teachers
9) by anyone who tries to take you captive according to
“traditions” and “worldly principles” rather than the
teaching of Christ
10) to worship angels or any other thing that others try to convince you as
truth through sharing their detailed “visions” when, in fact, they are NOT
spiritual at all (be careful to discern/test every spirit)
11) but prove ALL things and hold fast to that which is good
12) about the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
13) because to depart from God
14) to hear God’s Word, yet not do what it says
15) by erroneous doctrine
16) to believe that man can “live” in sin and be righteous
17) by becoming careless, lazy and negligent; thereby losing
your reward granted by God to faithful believers
Warriors, it is uber-important to know when you are under spiritual attack. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was 12. My parents did not go to church. All godly teaching I got I received on Sundays at church. I highly praise my home church because they were diligent in encouraging Scripture memorization. Having God’s Word in my heart gave the Holy Spirit more movement in my life during what I call the “Absent Years.” I wish they had been taught Spiritual Warfare. The rest of their discipleship program was awesome. During the “Absent Years,” my choices were often times sinful. Knowing what I know now, I believe my choices would have been different had I know what disobedience was going to bring into my life.
There are three things one must do in order to WIN OVER THE ENEMY:
I. RECOGNIZE (you are under attack) How can anyone be victorious in Battle if they are oblivious to the Battle itself? This is something that cannot be accomplished through PASSIVITY. You must ACTIVELY be on alert to each situation/circumstance your day brings. I used to think circumstances just happened and had nothing to do with spiritual warfare. Every circumstance is either dealt with according to God or according to the Enemy. There is no gray area here—like the Enemy would have you believe. As I have said before, when other people have done you wrong, gossiped about you, lied to you, taken advantage of you . . . your Battle is not WITH THEM . . . it is with the Enemy. Satan convinces others to “buy into” temptation to do those things to you for the express purpose of drawing YOU into sin. You see? This doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to understand that what seems to be a problem with someONE is really a problem with “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” When you start to feel irritated or depressed, most often you are under demonic attack . . . maybe even oppression. So recognizing when the Enemy has engaged you in Battle is paramount in VICTORY! You can’t win a Battle if you don’t know you are in one!
II. ASSESS Once you have learned to discern your spiritual attacks, the next step is assessing which spiritual weapon(s) will be the most effective. Most often, we are tempted to do something or to handle a situation in a way that goes against God’s Word or to sin against God’s Word, in which case our counter-attack would be to quote “out loud” the TRUTH in God’s Word (just as Jesus did when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness). Amen! Sometimes, you may not have your Bible and you cannot remember the applicable scripture, in which case you may need to PRAISE GOD. His Word tells us that He inhabits (lives in) our praise, you will thereby bring God “into” the situation to fight the Battle when you are ill-equipped to win otherwise. If you are being tempted by a situation, always look for “the way out” that God promises He will ALWAYS provide a way out. God cannot lie, so know that that way out exists . . . YOU must find it and take it!
III. TAKE AUTHORITY Once you have 1) recognized you are in Battle, 2) assessed exactly what you are dealing with and which spiritual weapon(s) will be the most effective, then take authority in Jesus’ Name by and through His Blood. Remember that Jesus’ shed blood on the cross is what defeated Satan and His Blood is like the signature to a Court Order that cannot be denied by the Enemy!!! No evil spirit/demon can win against the Blood of Jesus!
Abba Father, with each passing day, may we commit to actively train to become strong, courageous Warriors! Holy Spirit, open our eyes and increase our discernment so we are aware of the Enemy’s deceitful tactics and attacks. Holy Spirit, lead us and bring to our remembrance the applicable Word of God rightly fit to each Battle. Father, we commit to daily reading and learning Your Word so that we are able to wield the Sword of the Spirit effectively and masterfully! Help us to recognize the lies of the Enemy and put the Truth of Your Word in our hearts. We love You, Lord Jesus; we love you, Father; we love you, Holy Spirit! Father, according to the scriptures below, mold us into vessels worthy of Your Honor and Glory:
Ezekiel 36:26 King James Version (KJV)
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Jeremiah 31:3 King James Version (KJV)
3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Hebrews 8:10 King James Version (KJV)
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Following Our Captain in Battle,
Delann Conrad
​
​